Breakin' Down the Christmas Tree, Part 4

Part 1: Fighting Styles and Techniques: Introduction
Part 2: Street Fighter
Part 3: Wild Arrow

Well, all things must come to at least a temporary end, it seems, at least on this blog. I'll be finishing up the "Christmas Tree" series by touching upon a style inspired by the Eastern Martial Arts, which gave in turn their own inspiration to D&D's own "monk" class, a target of...well...a little bit of ridicule and a little bit of fluff strangeness (in the new edition, that is, but I won't go into that rant...) Let's have a look, though, at another take on this theme. It's not designed so much to deal damage as to keep the enemy on their toes...and to keep you in the fight.

Here is my final go at working through the initial steps of a fighting style. If people like what I've done, sometime in the future I may come back and expand on the fighting styles I've already done, plus add some more.

MONK TRAINING [EMPTY FIST SCHOOL]
You use your body, not steel, to deal your blows.
Prerequisites: Dex 13
You gain the Unarmed Combat Style and the Calm Mind Technique. Additionally, you gain a +3 proficiency with unarmed attacks. You may not take fighting style feats from another school.

Unarmed Combat [STYLE]
"I am a weapon."
You gain the following bonus to all unarmed attacks and damage rolls:
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
On a critical hit, target is dazed (save ends) and knocked prone.

Calm Mind [TECHNIQUE]
You protect yourself with balance and peace from within.
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your AC, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will defenses:
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
Each time you spend a healing surge, heal 1d4 additional HP.

FLURRY OF BLOWS [EMPTY FIST SCHOOL]
Your attacks rain down on the enemy with rapidity.
Prerequisites: Monk Training, Wis 13
Once per encounter, you may spend a healing surge to change the range of an attack to "Close burst 1."

FLUIDITY [EMPTY FIST SCHOOL]
"To truly fight, you must be as water, adapting to anything, free to do anything."
Prerequisites: Monk Training, Wis 13
You gain the Streamstep.

Streamstep [TECHNIQUE]
You glide across the field, with an uncanny ease.
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your Reflex, AC, and either Fortitude or Will defense (chosen when you activate this technique):
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
You gain a +2 bonus to AC against opportunity attacks.

So, there you go. Let me know what you think of the feats, if they need to be toned down or brought up a bit! Hopefully you've enjoyed this little series...come back next week, and I'll have a fun little houserule that you can play with, to add a bit more excitement...

Breakin' Down the Christmas Tree, Part 3

Part 1: Fighting Styles and Techniques: Introduction
Part 2: Street Fighter

So, we continue this series in Fighting Styles (an easy replacement for magic weapons, armor, and neck slot items) with a style called the Green Arrow. It was actually a couple of days until I realized that I had inadvertently given it the same name as a DC Comics superhero. Oops. So, I guess that a renaming would be in order.

So, I present to you the "Wild Arrow" style!

WOODLAND TRAINING [WILD ARROW SCHOOL]
Your training isn't pretty, but it works.
Prerequisites: Dex 13
You gain the Scout Style and the Wildstep Technique. You may not take fighting style feats from another school.

Scout [STYLE]
"Fleet of foot, swift of bow."
You gain the following bonus to all ranged attacks and damage rolls:
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
For each plus, roll 1d6 on a critical hit. Once per encounter, you may shift two squares as a minor action.

Wildstep [TECHNIQUE]
Training and experience in the woods have aided your ability to move.
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your AC, Reflex, and either Fortitude or Will defenses (chosen when you activate this technique):
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
You add your Wisdom modifier to saving throws against being slowed, and any time you would be pushed, pulled or slid, reduce the movement by 1 square.

PINNING SHOT [WILD ARROW SCHOOL]
You know how to keep an enemy in one spot.
Prerequisites: Woodland Training, Wis 13
When you hit an enemy with a ranged weapon attack, they are slowed until the start of your next turn.

BOW TACTICIAN [WILD ARROW SCHOOL]
Controlling the battlefield is your specialty.
Prerequisites: Woodland Training, Int 13
You gain the Scattershot Technique.

Scattershot [TECHNIQUE]
With a swift barrage, you can keep foes distracted and your allies safe.
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your Reflex and either AC, Fortitude, or Will defense (chosen when you activate this technique):
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
All allies within 3 squares of you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

With these feats in hand, your character will be more than ready to showcase the deft work of the Wild Arrow guerillas! What's next? I thought that I'd take a crack at the fabled Eastern martial arts...

Breakin' Down the Christmas Tree, Part 2

In last week's "Crunch" post, I discussed a little something called "Styles" and "Techniques", a replacement for most magic items, designed to avoid the "Christmas tree effect", that part of D&D where characters have to gather lots and lots of magic items to be most effective. I then promised a system that would allow any character to work just as efficiently as one with the proper magic items. Well, I can't say for sure if this succeeded, since I haven't gotten the chance to playtest it yet. But here's my ideas.

To have access to fighting styles and techniques, you first have to take a "School" feat. This represents a school of training within the martial community. Once you take the initial "Basic Training" feat, you then gain access to further feats from that school.

STREET TRAINING [BRAWLER SCHOOL]
Your training isn't pretty, but it works.
Prerequisites: Str 13
You gain the Brawler Style and the Tough Guy Technique. You may not take fighting style feats from another school. You may not gain the benefits of a Style on an attack made with a magical weapon, and you may not gain the benefits of a Technique if you wear magic armor or a magic neck slot item.

Brawler [STYLE]
"Take 'em hard, take 'em down."
You gain the following bonus to all melee attacks and damage rolls:
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
For each plus, roll 1d6 on a critical hit. Each time you bloody an enemy with a melee attack, deal extra damage equal to your Constitution modifier.

Tough Guy [TECHNIQUE]
"You really don't scare me. No, really."
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your Fortitude, Will, and either AC or Reflex defenses (chosen when you activate this technique):
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
You also gain a +3 bonus to Intimidate checks.

DIRTY TRICKS [BRAWLER SCHOOL]
"Cheatin'? Well let's see how you like this!"
Prerequisites: Street Training, Wis 13
When you hit an enemy with a melee weapon attack, you may choose to deal only [W] damage; that enemy grants combat advantage to all creatures until the start of your next turn.

URBAN CHAMPION [BRAWLER SCHOOL]
"I'm no unschooled pup, that's for sure."
Prerequisites: Street Training, Cha 13
You gain the Champion Swagger Technique.

Champion Swagger [TECHNIQUE]
You know just what you can do, and you let everyone else know, too.
While this technique is active, you gain the following bonus to your AC, Will, and either Fortitude or Reflex defenses (chosen when you activate this technique):
1st-5th Level: +1
6th-10th Level: +2
11th-15th Level: +3
16th-20th Level: +4
21st-25th Level: +5
26th-30th Level: +6
You also gain resist 3 against damage from opportunity attacks.

This ought to give a pretty good taste of how these go. Check back next week, I'll have some samples from a vastly different style: the woodland guerillas of the Green Arrow.

(Don't forget to leave feedback in the Comments box below! I'd love to hear what you think of these, and if you've tried them in your own games!)

Breakin' Down the Christmas Tree, Part 1

It's one of the things some people love about the standard RPG model, and it drives others crazy: the "Christmas tree effect". Seeing how Christmas itself is almost upon us, and perhaps many of you who are reading this are putting up said Christmas trees (or maybe not, depending on either when you are reading this post, or whether you put up Christmas trees in general). I happen to be one of those for whom the Christmas tree effect is quite agitating. But what is it?

If you're already familiar with the term, feel free to skip this paragraph, unless you feel like reading some more of my prose, in which case...carry on. Quite simply, then, the Christmas tree effect (henceforth to be known as the CTE) is the tendency of characters to both rely on and exhibit a large collection of equipment. This most often happens in fantasy settings with magical items, where entire builds are based upon specific magic items, and a smattering of equipment. Characters are literally covered head to toe with magical items, all shiny like a Christmas tree.

Here's a sample quote from Wizards of the Coast about the 4th Edition of D&D:

"In 4th Edition, only three magic items are important for your attacks and defenses to keep up with the escalating power of the monsters you face. These are your weapon, your armor, and your amulet or cloak (also known as your neck-slot item). Together, they enhance your attack rolls, damage rolls, and all four of your defense scores.

The game assumes that the “plus” of each of these three items follows the normal enhancement curve of items in the game: +1 from 1st to 5th level, +2 from 6th to 10th, and on up to +6 from 26th to 30th. Many (perhaps even most) characters will have at least one item slightly ahead or behind this curve, but if you’re more than a couple of points ahead of or behind the expected progression, you may find your foes notably less (or more) challenging than normal."

I know that there's some who like this effect. They either...a) like having shiny toys to play with...b) think that having a character gain equipment is a good, tangible way to show character development. More power to them. On the opposing side are people who feel that having so many magic items detracts from the characters themselves, that their power comes from their gear. This is the crew that I belong to...I'd be perfectly happy with an itemless game, in fact. Problem is, magic weapons, armor, etc. do play an important role in games such as Dungeons and Dragons. To that end, I propose a simple fix.

[Note: as originally envisioned, this is for D&D Fourth Edition, but can easily be tailored to other systems, with a similar mentality]

It's called "fighting styles"...I can't claim credit for the original idea, as I seem to recall seeing it somewhere around on the Giant in the Playground Forums. What it does is allow a character to no longer have to rely on magic weapons, armor, and neck slot items for the requisite attack and defense bonuses. How can this be, you say? Well, it's time to see the very basic part of fighting styles which fits this need.

Each fighting style gives you a bonus to attack and AC according to the standard enhancement progression: from 1st to 5th level, +1...from 6th to 10, +2, etc. Then, it'll give a secondary benefit, whether that be an encounter ability, healing-surge-activated bonus, or tiny mechanical benefit. In addition, fighting styles qualify you for special style feats, which further increase your capabilities.

But what about your other defenses (Fortitude, Reflex, Will)? For that, you add in Techniques. These are ongoing alterations, which provide a defense boost as above, and help you in some way. As a minor action, you may switch Techniques during a combat (or outside of combat, obviously). And yes, you can (unlike with styles) know more than one Technique.

So, how would one get these? The way I see it, you take a feat to learn one style and one technique. For the price of a feat, you are now fully armed to deal with enemies, in terms of attack bonuses, and magic items are no longer necessary for you. Then, you can take more style feats to get additional style features, and you can take additional technique feats to learn new techniques.

Next week, I'll post some of said feats, to get you filled in on just how this system would play out.